Proving A Point
by Ru-Doragon
Summary: "Fine then," she almost purred. "Prove it." Artemis could only stare, his body frozen to the spot where he stood.


**What wonderful reactions to Forget. -beams- Many thanks for all the reviews. Keep in mind that more are always welcome. Anyway, here it is. As promised.**

**Title: Proving a Point**

**Theme song: …I KNEW I was forgetting something…ummm, there **_**isn't**_** one? O.O I do believe that this is a first for me…**

**Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer passed them out for everyone to play with. –hugs characters close to chest- These ones are mine. –sighs sadly- I just don't get to make any profits off of what I do with them. Sucks really.**

****

**Many thanks to Alchemechanist for betaing this for me. Love you darling. And I'm still waiting for that chapter 8 hon. Also, thanks go out to my dear friend xybolic, who was a wonderful consultant for some of the wording. Love you also babe.**

A/N: Before we even get started, let me make one thing perfectly clear. This idea was inspired by a conversation between Kitsune Heart and HeadlessHoncho. (That right there should give you a hint about how close to M this is.) I only found out about the conversation after the fact. When I read the transcript, I hooked on one particular comment, and then THIS was born. Enjoy.

**

* * *

**

"I'll put it in simple terms that you will be able to understand," the French genius sneered. "Physically, you are roughly the size of an average four year old human. Simply speaking, you are just too small." She smirked. "You'd never be able to take him."

The elven captain continued to glare up at her. "_Yes_," she emphasized, "I _would_."

The French woman narrowed her eyes for a moment before relaxing her features so that she appeared calm and perfectly serene. "Fine then," she almost purred.

The elf's pointed ears twitched slightly at her words.

She finished her sentence then, "Prove it."

* * *

Artemis frowned down at the information spread out before him lightly. Doing so brought both of his too-perfectly-shaped-to-be-natural eyebrows closer together. No, this couldn't be right… Holly had to have make a mistake somewhere in her records. He would have to ask her…

Pushing his black swivel office chair back slightly, Artemis stood up. After grabbing the data tablet Holly had given him upon her arrival earlier that afternoon from his mahogany desk, Artemis exited his office.

Juliet looked up from her task arranging a bouquet of wildflowers in a vase when she heard a door open and close a little ways down the hall.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to her work when she noted that it was only Artemis, and, as per usual, he was wearing his customary dark grey suit, black shoes, and tie ensemble. Today the tie he sported had diagonal stripes of various widths, all of which were various shades of dark green.

Jeez, didn't the guy ever lighten up? It was the middle of summer, and a Saturday to boot. A pair of jeans and a t-shirt would be just fine.

When Artemis looked up after locking his door he looked to his right and blinked when he saw Juliet down the hall.

She was wearing her summer usual of shorts, a form fitting tank top, and sneakers.

"Juliet," Artemis called out as he began striding down the hallway towards the woman, "have you seen Holly recently?"

Juliet looked up at him when he called her name. "Hm? Holly? Oh, yeah." She turned and pointed over her shoulder in the same direction that the man had just walked, towards Holly's bedroom. "I heard her talking to someone in her room about five, ten minutes ago. Probably that genius guy down in Haven. Why?"

Artemis shook his head. "I just need to ask her something about her report."

He headed off towards the guest room that Holly was occupying during her weeklong visit to the manor.

"Mkay," the professional wrestler replied. Then, as an afterthought, she shouted to Artemis over her shoulder "Oh, watch out though. She seemed pretty pissed off about something."

Artemis merely raised his right hand in acknowledgement of her comment, not once pausing in his steps nor raising his eyes from the data tablet he was once again examining.

A little over a minute later Artemis reached the hall that contained Holly's current lodging.

He paused, looking up at a door that was paneled in a light, and very convincing, faux oak. Behind the door was the room that was housing the Manor's other current guest, Minerva Paradizo.

Artemis frowned. While he had no problem with the woman, she was, after all, one of the few beings that he considered a friend of his, he knew very well that Holly did not share his opinion of the French woman.

And while Minerva, unlike Holly, had never verbally expressed her disapproval of the other woman, her reaction to the mere mention of the elf was more than enough to clue Artemis into her thoughts regarding his relationship with Holly.

He looked down the hall to Holly's near identical door and his frown deepened. Having the two women stay at the manor at the same time was tempting fate enough. He _really_ should not have put them in the same wing. Let alone the same hallway. He shook his head and continued towards Holly's room.

'Stupid,' he thought.

When the Irishman finally stood before Holly's bedroom door he gave two quick knocks on the wood with the knuckles of his left hand and then, as was his custom, opened the door and entered without waiting for a reply.

"Holly, I was…wonder…ing…" the sentence trailed off into silence. Artemis could only stare, his hand, still on the door knob, frozen along with the rest of his body.

From the bed, Holly and Minerva both stared at him, identical looks of horror plastered across their faces.

Artemis was the first to snap out of his shock and he closed his mouth, schooling his features as he did so, straightened up, and backed out of the room, pulling the door closed as he did so.

When he heard the door click shut softly, Artemis maintained his grip on the handle for a moment longer. He stared down at his hand, taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

Then he closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them, he braved a quick glance down at his lower regions, silently praying that he was wrong.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, he was, in fact, correct. And as such, that meant that he was very much in need of a cold shower. A _very_ cold shower. _Now._

Finally looking up, Artemis spared time for a quick glance down each direction of the hallway before he stuffed both hands in his pockets in the hope that if he was unlucky enough to run into anyone, or, God forbid, if someone was actually paying attention to him on one of the security cameras, doing so would hopefully help to hide his condition at least somewhat.

He then hurried off, while still trying to maintain a pace that could be considered normal for anyone watching, towards his room already praying that the cold shower would be enough and that he wouldn't be forced to resort to…_other_ means in order to return his 'condition' to normal.

Groaning as the mental image of the two naked women again flooded his mind, Artemis increased his pace slightly, now even more determined to get to his room unnoticed (and hoping against all hope that Juliet had moved onto another place in the Manor).

* * *

Holly glared up at Minerva. "This is all your fault, you know."

Minerva scowled down at the smaller woman below her. "_My_ fault? How is this in any way _my_ fault?"

"Because you wouldn't just believe me when I told you that I could take him!" snapped Holly.

Minerva scoffed. "Oh, so of _course_ that makes it my fault."

"Yes, actually, it does!" Holly practically snarled, lifting her head slightly towards the other girl.

"No, it doesn't," insisted Minerva.

"Yes, it _does_." This time Holly did snarl.

"No, it _doesn't_," Minerva snarled right back.

The women continued glaring at each other for a moment longer before they simultaneously groaned and dropped their heads.

"What must he _think_…" Minerva said in a low, tortured voice.

Holly groaned at her words. "Don't remind me," she replied in an agonized moan.

* * *

**Think about it for a bit if you don't get how it's A/H right away. And pay particular attention to THIS line: "You'd never be able to take him." It's right in the beginning. Also, the fact that my group of friends and I all have brains that have pretty much been soaked in sewer water is something to keep in mind.**

**If you still can't figure it out, then just take a guess in your review. ^_~ And log in. Otherwise I won't be able to tell you if you're right or wrong. And if you're wrong, I won't be able to tell you what's really going on. Or, if I get enough requests, I MIGHT do a second chapter that shows what's going on from the girls perspective. Who wants one?**

**I EXPECT EVERY REVIEW I GET TO HAVE A GUESS AS TO WHAT'S GOING ON. DON'T JUST SAY YOU KNOW. TELL ME! ****Except for Kit, HH, xybolic, and The Creatress. You 4 are NOT allowed to tell others what's going on. That will just ruin the fun.**

**People, if I get one more review w/o a guess, I'm not posting another chapter.**


End file.
